Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad en-US Accepted manuscripts become the permanent property of the Journal and <strong>may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the written permission of the Editor</strong> jad@tums.ac.ir (Dr. Hassan Vatandoost) Journals@tums.ac.ir (TUMS Journals Office) Thu, 13 Jun 2024 17:06:27 +0430 OJS 3.1.1.1 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 A comprehensive review of the situation of visceral leishmaniasis vectors in Iran https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1651 <p><strong>Background:</strong> This study's major aim is to investigate the situation of visceral leishmaniasis vectors, with a focus on their distribution and relationships to the disease in Iran and some other old-world nations.<br><strong>Methods: </strong>The terms Iran and the Old World, along with the keywords sand flies, vectors, visceral leishmaniasis, distribution, and <em>phlebotomus</em>, were searched in electronic databases from 1930 to 2018, including Pub-Med, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and MEDLINE.<br><strong>Results:</strong> According to the findings, <em>Phlebotomus tobbi</em> was a mountain species, but it was also found in the plains, rodent nests, and rock crevices. This species was considered to be one of the vectors of visceral leishmaniasis in Iran<em>.</em> <em>Phlebotomus Kandelakii</em> has been caught in Central Asian countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Lebanon, Turkey, and Georgia. In Iran, the first infection of <em>Phlebotomus kandelakii</em> and <em>Ph. perfiliewi tranccaucasicus</em> with <em>Leishmania infantum</em> were reported in northwest of Iran. <em>Phlebotomus major</em> was one of the complex sand flies, and its members include <em>Ph. major</em> (India, Nepal, and Pakistan), <em>Ph. neglectus</em> (Southern Europe and Crimea), <em>Ph. syriacus</em> (Southwest Asia, Caucasus), <em>Ph. notus</em> (Afghanistan), <em>Ph. wenyoni</em> (Iran and Iraq), and <em>Ph.wui</em> (China). The first natural infection of <em>Phlebotomus alexandri</em> with <em>Leishmania infantum</em> was reported in 2006 in endemic foci of visceral leishmaniasis in Fars province, southern Iran.<br><strong>Conclusion:</strong> The findings of this project suggest that sand fly species of the subgenus <em>Larrousisus</em> play a key role in the transmission of all types of visceral leishmaniasis in Iran .</p> Yavar Rassi, Seyedeh Zahra Parkhideh, Sayena Rafizadeh, Mohammad Reza Jalil-Navaz ##submission.copyrightStatement## https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1651 Sat, 01 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0430 Assessing Survival of Transgenic Bacteria, Serratia AS1 and Enterobacter cloacae, in Sugar Bait, White Saxaul Plant (Haloxylon persicum) and Rodent Barrow’s Soil, A Contained-Field Study for Paratransgenesis Approach https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1669 <p><strong>Background:</strong> The viability and persistence of engineered bacterium candidates in field conditions is one of the consid­erable challenges in the paratransgenesis approach to fighting vector-borne diseases.<br><strong>Methods:</strong> In this study two engineered bacterium candidates to produce paratransgenic sand flies, <em>Serratia</em> AS1 and <em>Enterobacter cloacae</em> expressing m-Cherry fluorescent were applied on the leaves of the white saxaul plant (<em>Haloxylon persicum</em>), sugar bait, and rodent burrow soil and their persistent time was tested in desert condition, Matin Abad Coun­ty, Isfahan, August 2022. A PBS suspension of 10<sup>9</sup> cells/ml was used for sugar bait, spraying on plant leaves (~10 cm<sup>2</sup>) and 10 cm<sup>2</sup> of rodent burrow soil. Sand fly samples were taken daily and were plated on LB Agar and the fluorescent cells were counted after 24 hours.<br><strong>Results:</strong> Time course in general caused a decrease in the number of bacteria for both strains. The two strains were per­sistent in sugar bait and on plant leaves for four days and on soil for two days. Although there were slight differences between the number of the bacteria in sugar baits, which was not significant (P&lt; 0.05). The number of <em>E. cloacae</em> sur­viving on plant and in soil were significantly (P&lt; 0.0001 and P= 0.046) higher than <em>Serratia</em> AS1.<br><strong>Conclusion:</strong> This study shows that plants or sugar bait are useful routes for delivery of the transformed bacteria for the paratransgenesis approach, although, the bacteria ought to be sprayed on plants or sugar baits should be replaced with new ones in four days intervals.</p> Marzieh Ghassemi, Amir Ahmad Akhavan, Alireza Zahraei-Ramezani, Bagher Yakhchali, Mohammad Reza Zarean, Reza Jafari, Mohammad Ali Oshaghi ##submission.copyrightStatement## https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1669 Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0430 Morphometric Characteristics and Species Identification of Bed Bugs (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) in Eastern Iran https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1692 <p><strong>Background:</strong> The common bed bugs, <em>Cimex lectularius</em>, and tropical bed bugs, <em>Cimex hemipterus</em> are the primary spe­cies of public health importance in the family Cimicidae. This study aimed to determine the morphometric criteria and prevalent species of bed bugs in eastern Iran.<br><strong>Methods:</strong> Bed bugs were collected from March 2021 to June 2022 from infested residential buildings and apartments in eastern Iran, including North Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi, and Sistan and Baluchistan Provinces. The morphological and morphometrical characteristics were used to identify collected bed bugs at inter- and intra-specific levels.<br><strong>Results:</strong> A total of 34 isolates comprising 127 adult bed bugs were collected from Bojnord, Mashhad, Neishabur, Tai­bad, Sabzevar, Kashmer, Zahedan, Saravan, Rask, Pishin and Chabahar. Of these, 33 isolates (n=124) were found to be tropical bed bugs,<em> C. hemipterus</em>, and one population (n=3) was identified as <em>C. lectularius</em>. The index pronotal width/length ratio was calculated from 2.72 to 2.94 and 1.98 to 2.47 for <em>C. lectularius</em> and <em>C. hemipterus</em>, respectively. The length/width ratio of the hind femur was 3.365 in <em>C. hemipterus</em> and 4.267 in <em>C. lectularius</em>. The ratio of length/width of the third femur (F3 l/w) between populations of <em>C. hemipterus</em> was different, and this difference was statistically significant (P&lt; 0.05).<br><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The results of this study indicated that <em>C. hemipterus</em> was the dominant bed bug species in the east of Iran and provided more morphometric criteria of <em>C. hemipterus</em> for researchers to identify the species and determine the in­traspecific variations in the present and future.</p> Abbas Jadidoleslami, Ali Moshaverinia, Elham Moghaddas, Veera Singham ##submission.copyrightStatement## https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1692 Wed, 01 May 2024 00:00:00 +0430 Molecular Survey of Leishmania Infection of Sand Flies in Karun County, Southwestern Iran https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1678 <p><strong>Background</strong><strong>: </strong>Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) is widely distributed in Iran and around the world. Also, Khuzestan Province is an endemic focus of ZCL. This study aims to investigate the natural infection of sand flies with the <em>Leishmania</em> parasite in Karun County.<br><strong>Methods:</strong> Sand flies were collected from Jangiyeh, Qaleh Chanan, Kut-e-Navaser, and Ghazavieh in the spring and summer in the year of 2019, by installing 60 sticky paper traps each time (30 traps outdoors and 30 traps indoors). Two hun­dred female sand flies with different abdominal conditions (empty, blood-fed, semi-gravid, and gravid) were examined for infection rate using the Nested-PCR method.<br><strong>Results:</strong> In this study, seven species of sand flies including <em>Phlebotomus papatasi</em>, <em>Ph. alexandri</em>, <em>Ph. sergenti</em>, <em>Ph. cau­casicus</em>, <em>Sergentomyia tiberiadis</em>, <em>Se. sintoni</em>, and <em>Se. antennata</em> were reported from Karun County, with a frequency of 79.64%, 16.96%, 1.07%, 0.18%, 0.36%, 1.61%, and 0.18%, respectively. Only eleven specimens of <em>Ph. papatasi</em> were found to be positive for <em>Leishmania major</em>, with an overall infection rate of 7.8%. The infection of <em>Ph. papatasi</em> was specifically reported in blood-fed, gravid, and semi-gravid specimens, with infection rates of 17.02%, 4.35%, and 14.29%, respectively.<br><strong>Conclusion: </strong>In this study, the infection of <em>L. major</em> from <em>Ph. papatasi</em> was reported. The results can be used in planning the control of ZCL in the study area.</p> Shahrzad Taheri, Elham Jahanifard, Babak Vazirianzadeh, Reza Arjmand ##submission.copyrightStatement## https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1678 Thu, 09 May 2024 00:00:00 +0430 Investigation of Francisella tularensis Seroprevalence and Determination of Risk Factors for Tularemia among Hunters in Northern Cyprus https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1671 <p><strong>Background:</strong> Tularemia is a zoonotic disease (reservoir is usually rodents) caused by <em>Francisella tularensis</em>, especially seen in the northern hemisphere. Hunters are in the risk group for this disease. In this study, it was aimed to determine the seroprevalence of tularemia among hunters and determine the risk factors of tularemia in our country.<br><strong>Methods:</strong> The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is divided into four regions (Nicosia, Kyrenia, Famagu­sta/Trikomo, and Morphou/Lefka) and 100 volunteer hunters randomly selected from these regions were included in our study. Tube agglutination test (TAT) and <em>F. tularensis</em> IgG and IgM (ELISA method) were applied in all sera. All hunt­ers were filled with a pre-prepared questionnaire to determine risk factors for tularemia.<br><strong>Results:</strong> TAT positivity was found in 11%. While <em>F. tularensis</em> ELISA IgG positivity was 17%, IgM positivity was not found in any hunters. Hunters with positive <em>F. tularensis</em> ELISA IgG test (17%) were accepted as seropositive in terms of tularemia. There was no statistically significant difference between the mean age of IgG-positive and negative hunt­ers (p= 0.915). Of the 86 hunters who kept at least one hunting dog in their garden, 15 (17.4%) were IgG-positive. There was no significant relationship between feeding hunting dogs and tularemia (p= 0.561).<br><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Our study showed that the seroprevalence of tularemia was high (17%) among hunters, who are consid­ered a risk group, in our country. We think that more epidemiological research should be done on tularemia infection and it should not be overlooked in the clinic.</p> Emrah Güler, Meryem Güvenir, Berkem Korbay, Aşkın Kiraz, Kaya Süer ##submission.copyrightStatement## https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1671 Sat, 25 May 2024 00:00:00 +0430 Pediculosis and Factors Affecting its Prevalence among Schoolchildren in Amol City, Northern Iran https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1612 <p><strong>Background:</strong> Head louse infestation, pediculosis, is a serious health problem worldwide. Infected children usually suf­fer from itching, allergies, and secondary infections besides psychological disorders such as depression and lack of self-confidence leading to school failure. This study aimed to investigate the status of pediculosis and its determinant factors among schoolchildren in Amol City, Northern Iran.<br><strong>Methods: </strong>This study included 228 schools frequented by about 20017 students. Pediculosis was determined by careful examination of students’ hair on the scalp, back of the neck, and around the ears. The diagnosis was based on observa­tion of live adults, nymphs, and nits. A questionnaire was used to record the personal and demographic characteristics of participants.<br><strong>Results:</strong> This study revealed that the prevalence of pediculosis among schoolchildren during all schooling seasons (au­tumn, winter, and spring) correlated with sex: the prevalence being higher among girls than boys (p= 0.00). In addition, the highest rates of pediculosis occurred during the autumn season (p= 0.00). The public schools accommodated higher numbers of louse-infected students than the private ones (p= 0.00). While head louse occurred at higher frequencies in long hair over the schooling year, dandruff had anti-louse effects (p= 0.00) during cold seasons, autumn, and winter. Socioeconomic status and educational level of parents played determinant roles in head louse prevalence (p= 0.00). Schoolchildren coming from socioeconomically well-situated families had lower rates of head louse infestation.<br><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Our results showed that head pediculosis was a serious health problem among schoolchildren in Amol city and its prevalence and severity tended to be multifactorial.</p> Zohreh Gholami, Mohammad Saaid Dayer, Amrollah Azarm ##submission.copyrightStatement## https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1612 Sat, 25 May 2024 00:00:00 +0430 Seroprevalence and Endemic Status of Babesia ovis by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay in East Azerbaijan Province, North-West of Iran https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1674 <p><strong>Background</strong><strong>:</strong> <em>Babesia ovis</em>, an intraerythrocytic parasite carried by ticks and one of the most common subclinical ovine illnesses, was studied to ascertain its seroprevalence and endemic status in ram and ewe populations in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran, in lambs, yearlings, and adults of over two years of age.<br><strong>Methods</strong><strong>:</strong> A total of 960 sheep from 10 cities were selected from Jan 2018 to Nov 2019. Blood samples were collected from each animal and tested for the presence of <em>B. ovis</em> antibodies by applying a developed enzyme-linked immuno­sorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Checkerboard titrations were used to determine the optimal dilution of the antigen using negative and positive control sera. To determine whether the disease is endemically stable, inoculation rates for each age group were also calculated. Correlation coefficients were calculated between age and infection rates and also between age and inoculation rates.<br><strong>Results:</strong> The results revealed an average infection rate of 49.4% in East Azerbaijan Province. There was a positive cor­relation between the age of animals and susceptibility to infection except for lambs and yearlings, whereas there was no meaningful difference in exposure to <em>B. ovis</em> between rams and ewes. The negative correlation between age and inocula­tion rates indicates increased disease instability with age. Inoculation rate results revealed the endemically instable sta­tus of <em>B. ovis</em> in the studied area.<br><strong>Conclusion</strong><strong>:</strong> High prevalence rates and endemically instable status of the disease suggest demand for vaccine develop­ment and implementation of appropriate control measures for ovine babesiosis to mitigate the associated economic loss­es.</p> Hossein Hashemzadeh Farhang, Nafis Akbari-Shahkhosravi ##submission.copyrightStatement## https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1674 Tue, 28 May 2024 00:00:00 +0430 Endocarditis Caused by Coxiella burnetii: A Case Report in Western Iran https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1649 <p><strong>Background:</strong> Q fever is a contagious zoonotic disease which is caused by a gram-negative and an intracellular cocco­bacillus known as <em>Coxiella burnetii </em>that ticks play role in its transmission. Endocarditis is the most common conse­quence of chronic Q fever.<br><strong>Methods:</strong> Here we report a case of endocarditis caused by Q fever. The patient is a 67-year-old, and she had coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and aortic valve replacement surgery.<br><strong>Results:</strong> The result of echocardiography showed a suspicious mass (Vegetation) on the implanted valve. Based on la­boratory and clinical assessments, endocarditis caused by <em>C. burnetii</em> was the final diagnosis.<br><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Q fever is a tick-transmitted pathogen that has been known as an important cause of culture-negative en­docarditis in Iran, and more attention needed to be paid to this disease in Iran by the healthcare system and physicians.</p> Shahla Afrasiabian, Saber Esmaeili, Katayon Hajibagheri, Nooshin Hadizadeh, Gohar Lotfi, Arshad Veysi ##submission.copyrightStatement## https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1649 Sat, 27 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0430